Mr. Cruz's language allows political figures, including members of Congress, federal judges and cabinet members, as well as some of their families and staff, to undergo rapid testing in public, with a full-time security escort at the airport. Become. The proposed amendment would put most of the responsibility for doing this on the Transportation Security Administration, but it would give the agency a big advantage in that it would only have to arrange for protection through other law enforcement agencies, including airport police. .
The amendments approved by the committee on Thursday are revised from an earlier draft obtained by POLITICO, but the outline of the objectives is largely the same.
The head of a nonprofit representing airport police said last week that Mr. Cruz's previous proposal would be “burdensome to airport police agencies,” especially since the federal budget already underfunds airport police forces. Ta. Kevin Murphy, executive director of the Airport Law Enforcement Network, said it would divert police from their “fundamental mission of suppressing crime and security at airports.”
Instead, Murphy said, escorting political dignitaries should be the job of federal law enforcement.
Mr. Cruz did not mention this amendment when raising prices. But Cruz previously told POLITICO that the proposed amendment would ensure that political figures who have been threatened in the past or are currently being threatened are not put at risk when passing through airport public spaces. He said it was aimed at.
Mr. Cruz said last week that there are “serious security threats facing public servants.” “It is important that we take reasonable steps to keep everyone safe.”
But after Thursday's price increase before the Senate Commerce Committee adjourned, senators said: Gary Peters (D-Michigan) said the measure would set a “very dangerous precedent that exempts certain groups of people from security processes essential to national security.”
The Capitol Police, the force that protects the Capitol, announced it investigated about 8,000 threats against members of Congress in 2023, an increase of 500 from the previous year. And these threats tend to spike in election years, suggesting further escalation is on the horizon.
Although the Capitol Police maintains protection for congressional leaders both inside and outside of Congress, most rank-and-file members do not receive protection unless they are the subject of a credible threat.
The revised language submitted Thursday clearly outlines what law enforcement agencies will be requested for protection, such as the Capitol Police in the case of members of Congress.
However, it would still give the responsibility for arranging this escort to the “appropriate official” (in this case the TSA), leaving open the option for the TSA to simply hand over that duty to airport police.
